St. Charles N. 28, Larkin 13

Friday night's game wasn't a must-win for both the St. Charles North and Larkin football teams.

But it certainly was a need-to-win game for both to keep possible playoff dreams alive.

The North Stars, behind a dominating pass rush and 3 touchdowns from Nic Higgins, left Memorial Field in Elgin with a 28-13 victory and a glimmer of hope.

"We knew our backs were on the wall," said Higgins, a senior. "If we went down to 3-4 and we have two very tough games. We had to be ready."

St. Charles North (4-3, 3-1 Upstate Eight) faces cross-town rival St. Charles East, ranked No. 9 in the Daily Herald Top 20 and in the top 10 in Class 7A by The Associated Press, and Neuqua Valley in the final two weeks of the season.

Thanks to Friday's victory the North Stars likely will only need one win to reach the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season.

"The next two teams are quality teams," North coach Mark Gould said. "(This was) unbelievably important."

Larkin (3-4, 3-2) now must beat its cross-town rival Elgin and Waubonsie Valley to potentially earn its second straight postseason berth.

Possibly knowing what was at stake both teams opened the game with a couple of mistakes offensively.

The North Stars lost fumbles on each of their first two possessions. The Royals had two turnovers on downs, an interception and a lost fumble on its first four possessions.

Higgins, who finished with 195 yards rushing on 18 carries, and the North Stars took advantage with two touchdowns in the final 2:44 of the first quarter. Both times Higgins scored from 7 yards out as the North Stars led 14-0 after the first quarter.

The Royals responded with a touchdown drive of their own. Cam Kinley hit John Banks for a 9-yard score with 10:21 left in the half to cut the deficit to 14-7.

Larkin thought it had a tying score midway through the second quarter, but a Kinley-to-Ryan Shriver touchdown was brought back because of a holding penalty.

"Too many mistakes," Larkin coach Dave Bierman said. "Too many holding calls, too many procedure calls. You can't do that and expect to win. It was very undisciplined. I don't know why."

Higgins added a 6-yard touchdown with 2:03 left in the half for a 21-7 St. Charles North lead.

In the third quarter, Kinley hit Shriver for a 23-yard score, but the Royals missed the conversion and trailed 21-13.

St. Charles North's Colton Hinrichs added a 1-yard touchdown run with 4:50 to put the game away, one that Gould credits to the defense.

"The defensive coaches put the game plan in and it was a great game plan," Gould said. "It was a good win because their offense gives you nightmares."

Kinley passed for 384 yards on 26-of-45 passing, but the Royals rushed for only 19 yards. Shriver had 10 receptions for 171 yards.